State oil firm Pemex did not close the gasoline pipe when first notified by the military, about four hours before Friday's blast, because it considered the leak "minimal," Security Minister Alfonso Durazo told a news conference. In the hours that followed, the leak grew and as many as 800 people brought plastic containers to the gushing duct, filling up with free fuel in what witnesses described as an almost festive atmosphere. Relatives of some of the victims said fuel shortages stemming from President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's plan attracted people to the leak at the Tula-Tuxpan pipeline, a few miles from a major refinery.

BEIJING (AP) — A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential oil and gas reserves:

Mexico has opened an investigation into what caused a deadly pipeline explosion, including possible negligence by authorities, the attorney general said Monday, as the death toll rose to 91 people. It is still unclear exactly how events unfolded leading up to the Friday blast, which occurred as hundreds of people rushed to collect fuel in buckets and jerrycans from a geyser of gasoline that was spouting from an illegal pipeline tap near the town of Tlahuelilpan, in the central state of Hidalgo. Attorney General Alejandro Gertz said investigators were trying to determine who tapped the pipeline -- whether locals acting alone or one of the criminal gangs that have turned fuel theft into a booming industry in Mexico.

A magnitude- 6.7 earthquake hit the coast of north Chile, causing buildings to shake and fears of a possible tsunami. It reportedly caused homes to rattle, as well as minor damage to old buildings and power outages in the nearby coastal city of La Serena – a popular beach town about 250 miles north of Santiago. Chilean mining group Antofagasta Plc said operations were continuing as normal at its Los Pelambres copper mine following the nearby earthquake.

The students from private, all-male Covington Catholic High School in northern Kentucky were in Washington for an anti-abortion rally on Friday when they were filmed surrounding Nathan Phillips and mocking the Native American's singing and drumming. Fellow students, many in clothing bearing President Donald Trump's "MAGA" slogan, cheered him on and chanted, "build that wall, build that wall," Phillips said.

Women from various political and ideological backgrounds challenged the 2019 Women’s March by marching in protest and organizing alternative rallies near the Washington, D.C. event on Saturday. The third annual Women’s March took place in Freedom Plaza, a more confined space than in years past, suggesting that organizers anticipated smaller crowds after facing allegations of anti-Semitism and defending Nation of Islam’s anti-Semitic leader Louis Farrakhan. Following the development of those controversies, conservative group Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) organized a rally across the street in the name of “all women” at the same time as the Women’s March.

Texas Republican Rep. John Ratcliff says he is curious why Robert Mueller chose to speak out about the BuzzFeed article when there have been multiple fake articles published over the last two years.

POSTED JANUARY 20, 2019 11:26 AM

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